He is wrong about Mandela, who was a Communist. Today, South Africa is NOT a place were 'all live together.' Ask the white farmers who have been attacked, who have had their property seized, and who live in fear for their lives.

Since the fraudulent collapse of the USSR, Russia does all it can to discourage foreign investment, thereby not siphoning any potential foreign investments that could go to China instead. Russia relies on its wealth of natural resources to stay afloat and build up its military. China has no such natural resource wealth to speak of for exporting purposes.

Such politically-motivated prosecutions of business "tycoons" in Russia is supposed to dissuade foreign investments.

Any country that stifles entrepreneurship is doomed to fail. Any country that
stifles Jewish entrepreneurship is double doomed. Both Brazil and Russia have done the latter.

Sergey Brin, a Russian Jew, would have never be allowed to build Google from
inside Russia. Obviously, he had the talent, but not the fertile ground to build his vision.

Eduardo Saverin, a Brazilian Jew, would have never be allowed to build Facebook from
inside Brazil. Again, he had the talent, but not the fertile ground to build his vision.

It is true that both men are co-founders in their respective companies. Saverin never
returned to Brazil opting to live in Singapore instead. Brin will likely never return to Russia.

When countries squander their most precious resource, its own people (whether Jew or
Gentile), they will never get ahead. Contrast that with Taiwan, a country with little to no
resources, yet a giant compared to Brazil when it comes to consumer global brands
like Asus, Acer, HTC, Giant, Zyxel, Quickly (Boba/Tapioca tea) global chain.

Russia and Brazil will always have fleeting moments in the news given their respective
sizes and resources. However, both countries will never realize their potential due to
corruption and hoarding of natural resources by their corrupt and inept governments.

I strongly disagree. There was no " fraudulent collapse of the USSR" ! The country's constitution provided for it component republics to secede.
The country's institutions, including its presidency, parliament, government, - all were dissolved according to their own legal procedures. There was no revolution. Please don't spread misinformation, whatever your reasons.

Be honest. Can you actually say in certain terms that Sergey Brin
would have the same success had he stayed in Russia?

Taiwan has tons of global consumer brands I previously mentioned.
How many does Russia boast?

To further reinforce my point about Russia and Brazil, Carlos Ghosn is the
CEO of Nissan & Renault. Like Lee Iacocca, he is the father of a major
global car (Nissan GTR). Ask yourself, WTF is 100% made in Brazil as
far as cars are concerned? In that same token, ask yourself why Marussia
is made in Finland.

In that same token, ask yourself why Marussia is made in Finland.
-
Two-three years ago, Marussia was british (they called them "Virgin racing"). So, why blame russians about it? Not even Branson had a made-in-England racing car...

A FULLY made-in-England (or Australia, or Canada, or where-is-he-from) racing car, I mean...
BTW, there are virtually no F1 car fully made in a country: engines from USA (Ford-Consworth) or Italy (Ferrari), tires from USA (Goodyear) or France (Michelin), or Japan (Bridgestone -yes, it's from Japan-), etc....Globalization...

Yuri Milner - Net Worth 1 billion
Outside Russia, who ever heard of .ru?
Note: He invested in Western success without
creating a global brand. Smart move, but not
an all Russia global brand. So, my point still
stands.

Pavel Durov - Net Worth 260 million
Created a Facebook Knockoff. How about something
original and global like HTC, Acer, Asus?

Tesla is American designed and American made.
Kiira EV is Ugandan designed and Ugandan made.
Acer Computers are made in Taiwan.
Ferrari is still made in Italy.
Bombardier is still made in Canada.
and so forth.

WTF is made in Russia? (global consumer brand)
or in Brazil for that matter.
Note: Taurus (without Beretta tech transfer no
Taurus);
Embraer (without Piper to Zodiac Aerospace, no
Embraer). and so forth.

The country's institutions, including its presidency, parliament, government, - all were dissolved according to their own legal procedures. There was no revolution. Please don't spread misinformation, whatever your reasons.
-
As a matter of fact, the only "procedure" Eltsin and the (then) presidents of Ukraine and Belarus use (three republic on 15...) to "dissolve" USSR was a telegram announcing that "USSR ceased to exist". I wonder if this procedure of "dissolvement" or "secession" is included in any constitution in the world. Surely it was not in the soviet one...

Tesla is American designed and American made.
Kiira EV is Ugandan designed and Ugandan made.
Acer Computers are made in Taiwan.
Ferrari is still made in Italy.
Bombardier is still made in Canada.
and so forth.

WTF is made in Russia? (global consumer brand)
or in Brazil for that matter.
Note: Taurus (without Beretta tech transfer no
Taurus);
Embraer (without Piper to Zodiac Aerospace, no
Embraer). and so forth.
-
We were talking of F1 car, as far as I remember...
I did not know that Kiira EV was a F1 car (and Tesla, Acer, Bombardiers...They are not even cars, are they?)
Besides: Tupolev, Sukhoy (see Superjet100 for details: they NOT ALWAYS land on the belly, y'know...), and, going closer to global brands, Kaspersky antivirus are not made on Mars, are they?
Russia is playing that game since 20 years (let alone the "democratic" and "advisored" mess of the first 10 or about), roughly 3 times less time than Taywan, and it already shows some flags. Let's talk about russian global consumer brands in, say, 2043...it will need a telephone directory to list them, I presume...

Such politically-motivated prosecutions of business "tycoons" in Russia is supposed to dissuade foreign investments.
-
Germany has thousands of firms working in Russia, let alone Italy, France and other countries (including normally Russia-bashing Sweden -Ikea-).
What a deterrence...

GT-R is a road car. Marussia is also a road car. (you can Google it or Yandex it all day long).

Tupolev, Sukhoy, etc. are not global consumer brands.

Russia was never colonized or occupied like Taiwan was. Russia and Brazil are
full of excuses and B.S. Like you, Brazilians have in the future outlook. A future
that will never arrive. Meanwhile, Taiwan will continue to innovate with flexible
screens, and the next generation of global consumer products.

Like EV Reva Car (made in India) and sold in the UK and other markets,
Kiira EV could do the same. It is made in Uganda. In Africa and outside
Africa, there is a reluctancy to invest in African innovation. Could it be
envy? After all, WTF Russia or Brazil produce that is original in design like the Kiira EV?!?

" the only "procedure" Eltsin and the (then) presidents of Ukraine and Belarus use (three republic on 15...) to "dissolve" USSR was a telegram announcing that "USSR ceased to exist".

Pure BULL-propaganda. You have chosen to ignore the acts of Gorbachov as president, 100% legal acts of all republican legislatures, referendum, etc. including decisions of international bodies, starting with the UN. The legality of the USSR dissolution has been assessed by legal experts worldwide. Your 'expertise' is plain primitive propaganda. Wake up to the real world. Your attempts to restore USSR is a lost cause.

"Germany has thousands of firms working in Russia, let alone Italy, France and other countries ..."

All are trying their best to help Russian people to survive the PUTIN ERA. And trying to demonstrate that with proper leadership the Russians have other options than surrendering to 1,350 million Chinese.

"Swedish home-furnishings giant Ikea froze expansion plans in 2009 saying that it would not succumb to paying bribes to safety inspectors to secure a permit. According to a BBC news report, Ikea needed to secure 300 permits in order to set up its first store in Russia. The price they had to pay for the paperwork was US $5million. Retail giants Walmart and Carrefour decided to call it quits in Russia in the past 16 months and have instead resolved to expand in China, India, and Brazil. A US-based investment firm decided against starting a $100-million equity fund in Russia as it “couldn’t risk investing other people’s money in the country.” -- 'Corruption dissuades foreign investment in Russia'; SingaporeStartup (March 10, 2011)

Then for Russian Naval vessels, take a look at what's still appended to the bows (enlarge picture)...

Those pictures were taken in 2009, 2004 and 2013, respectively, not before the "collapse" of the USSR. As you can see, the distinct Soviet era nationality emblem of the Communist Party...the Red Star... is still present. That political symbol of the Soviet government would have been immediately removed in early 1992 if the "collapse" of the USSR were genuine. As the legal emblem of the USSR and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the distinctive Red Star nationality emblem can only be present if Communists are still in power in Russia and the other 14 republics that made up the USSR.

Note the Soviet emblem of the hammer & sickle stenciled on the aircraft's fuselage!

Now, for the main paper of the Russian Ministry of Defense…

Google: 'Krasnaya Zvezda'

“Krasnaya Zvezda” is Russian (no kidding!) for "Red Star", the official newspaper of Soviet and later Russian Ministry of Defense. The paper's official designation is, "Central Organ of the Russian Ministry of Defense." Note the four Soviet emblems next to the still existing Soviet era masthead, one of which pictures Lenin's head! Those Soviet emblems and Lenin's head can't still be next to the masthead of the Russian Ministry of Defense's newspaper due to their association with the Soviet Union and its ideals of world revolution; the nations of the world constituting the Soviet Union!

The fraudulent "collapse" of the USSR (and East Bloc) couldn't have been pulled off until both political parties in the United States (and political parties elsewhere in the West) were co-opted by Moscow & Allies, which explains why verification of the “collapse” was never undertaken by the West, such verification being (1) a natural administrative procedure (since the USSR wasn’t occupied by Western military forces); and (2) necessary for the survival of the West. Recall President Reagan's favorite phrase, "Trust, but verify".

Russia was never colonized or occupied like Taiwan was
-
Taiwan started to do something right (not immediately "global") when the colonization ended and it become "independent" from mainland China (end of chinese civil war, 1949, 54 years ago). Russia plays under capitalist rules from the end of USSR (1991, 22 years ago). Before that year, Russia had other priorities than create its own McDonald-like success story (and it followed them quite well: alphabetization, industrialization, space, etc.). For 10 years (thanks to Eltsin and US "advisors") Russsia risked to loose its industrial base and even its state structures (education included), and it was just 10-12 years ago. What was the situation of Taiwan in, say, 1971? Did it have something "global" then?

"Germany has thousands of firms working in Russia, let alone Italy, France and other countries ..."
All are trying their best to help Russian people to survive the PUTIN ERA. And trying to demonstrate that with proper leadership the Russians have other options than surrendering to 1,350 million Chinese.
-
Wrong. Businessmen are not philanthrops (at least not in their working hours). If they do something like invest in a country it's for sound selfishness (say, "nothing personal, just business"...). And if they do it in Russia, it's because, bureaucracy or not, bribes or not, it's one of the few big AND solvent markets in the world. Putin or not Putin...

As a matter of fact, Ikea did not go: there is still its sign on a big store building on the road between Sheremetyevo airport and the city (close to the monument signing where germans had to stop their "investment" in 1941: better come to Russia with furnitures than with tanks...). The news is (since some years) there is ALSO a "Le Roi Merlin" sign...

???
Russia was Communist Empire for 71 years, and not beholden to the West
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in Space.
The AK-47, the Soviet Union equivalent of a global consumer brand
is reported to have sold 100 million units.
Clearly, Russia was not as backward and beholden to the West as you paint.
Actually, the Soviet Union was highly dysfunctional like Brazil and more.
-It imported grains for decades. German WW2 documentaries show how vast Russia's steppes were.
-The AK-47 was a carbon copy of the Sturmgewehr (including the caliber 7mm+). Perfect
example of a Brazilian like technology transfer.
-AvtoVaz was used to launder money for the Russia mafia instead of making autos like Ford.
-Trans-Siberian Highway is just like Brazil's Trans-Amazon in lacking pavement,
infrastructure, and being impassable during the raining season/mud/snow/etc.
-There are only two major cities that matter in both countries (Moscow, St. Petersburg;
Sao Paulo, Rio). Outside of that, there is little to talk about.
-Russia like Brazil HATES entrepreneurship at the Individual level. There are both
written and unwritten laws that make it nearly impossible to start a business. Eduardo
Saverin's father only became wealthy later in life. Had he lived in the U.S. or in some
European countries he would have been wealthy much sooner.
-Like Brazil, Russia is all about pomp and wanna be aristocrat looks. Check out Putin (link)http://www.luciankim.com/blogs/lucian-in-moscow/inauguration-in-a-ghost-...
Contrast that with how ordinary Russians live below (near the Chinese border).http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/06/photo-power-struggles-between-drag...
Now compare that with a typical Brazilian favela (Heliopolis) right next to Morumbi
(one of the wealthiestneighborhoods in Latin America). Scrow down to the middle of page.http://marywhipplereviews.com/james-scudamore-heliopolis-brazil/
See any resemblance?
Taiwan had nothing remotely compared to Brazil or Russia. No oil, no vast land, no industrial
base, no huge agriculture, no space program, etc. etc.
Taiwan shared the little it had (Land reform) and invested heavily in educating its people
(so they would not be deceived like Brazilians or peasants like Russians). After hard work,
perseverance, innovation, and business acumen (all nations have, but few allow it to thrive),
Taiwan became a global leader in some industries.
Does that answer your question?

" Tupolev, Sukhoy (see Superjet100 for details: they NOT ALWAYS land on the belly, y'know...), and, going closer to global brands"
True, they NOT ALWAYS land, PERIOD.
They simply CRASH !
-
Oh...then, it's true than "each minute a fool is born"...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Superjet_100
284 planes ordered, 107 optioned, from Mexico to Italy, to Thailand (passing through Russia and former soviet republics, of course). For a plane which always crashes. How many fools in world airline industry...
Or maybe there's just one fool...and it's not me...
28

Russia was Communist Empire for 71 years, and not beholden to the West
-
Have I said it was "beholden" by anybody? West tried to "behold" Russia in the 90es ("advisors", mister "yes sir" Kozyrev as minister of foreign affairs, links with "some" oligarchs, "eat and shut up" policy, etc.). With lackadaysical results, indeed (VVP)...
-
The AK-47, the Soviet Union equivalent of a global consumer brand
is reported to have sold 100 million units.
Clearly, Russia was not as backward and beholden to the West as you paint.
-
Boy, it seems you are dyslessical. I never said it was "backward" (at least from the 30es on, althought at a frightful price). If it were backward, Hitler (and japanese) would have got the Whole Eurasia, and we all in Europe would speak german (those who did not end up in some lager, at least). I said that, until the fall of USSR, the priorities were not to build such thing as a global consumer brand (maybe in USA an AK47 is a consumer good, thanks to NRA, but not in my country). And so that trade was a bit dismissed. Got it?

-It imported grains for decades. German WW2 documentaries show how vast Russia's steppes were.
-
Yes and this is one of the things Russia does not do anymore. One point for it (and a bit more important than a Worldwide chain of burgers, ain't it?).

-The AK-47 was a carbon copy of the Sturmgewehr (including the caliber 7mm+). Perfect
example of a Brazilian like technology transfer.
-
You always have to copy the masters of a trade, when you start. BTW: the first american post war missiles where a copy of...what?
-
AvtoVaz was used to launder money for the Russia mafia instead of making autos like Ford.
-
Maybe. However, russian car makers go on, while in the USA, GM was on the brink of bankruptcy, before evil Obama saved it with public money (and german filial Opel was near to be sold to Russians), and even after that...Detroit, anybody?

-There are only two major cities that matter in both countries (Moscow, St. Petersburg;
Sao Paulo, Rio). Outside of that, there is little to talk about.
-
If you believe this about Russia, there's nothing anybody can do for you...

German WW2 documentaries show how vast Russia's steppes were.
-
After a war conducted with the logic "for Germans to live, Russians must die", 1/3rd of the country destroyed and millions of people -including many land workers- died, it would have been surprising if the panorama would have been better (the collectivization had given its contribution before, but...)...

".. a bit more important than a Worldwide chain of burgers, ain't it?)."

That maybe your opinion, but to establish and continuously operate over decades a worldwide chain of burgers takes marketing talent, management skills, and, yes, a steady supply of ALL ingredients that make it a BURGER.
Russia could not provide neither suitable quality of beef or even raw potatoes for fries, all had to be imported from Europe at least until the corporate management established and supervised locally produced beef and local potatoes.
As to your opinion about Russian food imports being 'no more', I would strongly urge you to verify Russian annual import statistics. You are seriously mistaken if you think Russian consumers survive on Russian produced grains. Maybe you should visit some of the larger Moscow supermarkets !

Funny, you have missed the fact that the Russians keep buying preferred models of imported brands made by BMW, Benz, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, FIAT, etc. etc. Yes, even after two or three decades of learning the skills from their Western 'sponsors', Russian car makers go on producing models few people want or need.
Do you know any friends driving a Russian LADA ?

How true. 'Oh...then, it's true than "each minute a fool is born"...
Including those who believe in fictional planted stories.
So, how many Sukhoi Superjets have been in actual daily service by FOREIGN airlines over at least ONE year ?

"..“Krasnaya Zvezda” is Russian (no kidding!) for "Red Star", the official newspaper of Soviet and later Russian Ministry of Defense."

Don't worry. I can read Russian and not only about 'Krasnaya Zvezda' and other typical junk.

"The paper's official designation is, "Central Organ of the Russian Ministry of Defense." Note the four Soviet emblems next to the still existing Soviet era masthead, one of which pictures Lenin's head! Those Soviet emblems and Lenin's head can't still be next to the masthead of the Russian Ministry of Defense's newspaper due to their association with the Soviet Union and its ideals of world revolution"

I have long ago acknowledged that intentional association you speak about. But its not about a Lenin-style communist world revolution, but about an undeniable FACT that for some 71 years RUSSIA as a legally recognised state DID NOT EXIST. No RUSSIAN state was recognised by any other state, no Russian diplomatic missions were accredited to foreign countries, no RUSSIAN flag flown over any USSR embassy or mission, no RUSSIAN hymn was ever played at any official ceremony. The leaders like Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov have never claimed to be HEADS of any Russian state nor have they signed ANY treaties in the name of RUSSIA. Today's Russian leaders and Russian 'historians' have falsified the history of the past 71 years by pretending that the UNION of Soviet Republics was synonymous with RUSSIA. They had to start with the basic facts that Lenin somehow was the Head of a RUSSIAN state, the RED star being a RUSSIAN emblem and the RED army (or navy) being RUssian armed forces.
That falsification on an unprecedented scale continues in part because the Western states ALLOW this to take roots in the case of international treaties, UN Charter, etc. etc. RUSSIA was given the title of the SUCCESSOR state to the USSR only after a legal dissolution of the USSR had been acknowledged worldwide and ONLY after most other FORMER USSR republics (the three Baltics, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, the Asian 'Stans', etc. had been recognised as independent states with all their rights and responsibilities.
Putin's Russia is now working hard in a worldwide attempt to erase from memory a HISTORIC fact that from 1921 till 1991 RUSSIA, as an independent state, DID NOT exist.

Your attempts to restore USSR is a lost cause.
-
The acts of Gorbachev were a consequence of the "telegram" of Eltsin (the only other choice would have been the use of force: civil war in a nuclear power...Too good to be true for Mr Brzezinsky, ain't it?).
BTW: what Referendum" are you talking (talking?) about? There was a referendum, before, who gave a majority of "yes" for the maintaining of the union. Who decides what is the "right" one?
I do NOT attempt to restore anything, even less USSR. It would mean I have no brains...And if there ia a brainless person here, it's not me...
Take care of your liver...You are pushing it to the limit...

As to your opinion about Russian food imports being 'no more', I would strongly urge you to verify Russian annual import statistics. You are seriously mistaken if you think Russian consumers survive on Russian produced grains. Maybe you should visit some of the larger Moscow supermarkets !
-
I visited them more than you imagine. There is plenty of foreign products, as in many supermarkets around the world (and I'm proud to say, there are many products from MY country, I'm not sure about those from YOURS...But I don't think...). But since we are talking about GRAINS, and since Russia EXPORTS grains, it's clear they have enough of that basical good (or else there would have been another artificial famine there, and surely you would bother us night and day about it...)...

Funny, you have missed the fact that the Russians keep buying preferred models of imported brands made by BMW, Benz, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, FIAT, etc. etc. Yes, even after two or three decades of learning the skills from their Western 'sponsors', Russian car makers go on producing models few people want or need.
-
Do you think al americans drive Ford or GM brands (unlikely, since GM's troubles, ain't it?)? All Italians drive Fiat? All French drive Renault or Citroen? All British drive Rolls Roice?
-
Do you know any friends driving a Russian LADA ?
-
There are plenty of Lada, here. Lada Niva. They were imported by the same dealer of Citroen, and people buyed them as 4X4 (offroad) cars. So what?
Of course, from the times of Niva, some water has passed beneath the bridges, and now there are new models too. I hope this will not upset you...

Russa did not exist (as now does not exist any sovereign state called England, but many say "England" to say "UK", and no riot breaks free for that)...and now Russia EXISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, cruel, cruel world...

Russia and Brazil will always have fleeting moments in the news given their respective
sizes and resources. However, both countries will never realize their potential due to
corruption and hoarding of natural resources by their corrupt and inept governments.
-
When Putin came to power, all the world was dead-sure than Russia would have NEVER repayed its foreign dept (let alone repayed it in advance), NEVER busted an attack on its federated republics (Dagestan) and virtually won a war after that, NEVER increased manyfold its GDP and more, much more than this, NEVER defied (and won) a nation closely allied to USA...Well, you know the rest...
NEVER say "NEVER"...

"..the only other choice would have been the use of force: civil war in a nuclear power..."

So the Kremlin gang was afraid of ITS OWN SOVIET ARMED FORCES !
Including the fact that the nuclear forces were dispersed all over the vast Soviet UNION territory under REAL control of local commanders.

So, you should be grateful, GRATEFUL FOREVER to all the peoples of various former republics who, by dissolving the UNION of SSR , facilitated and LEGALISED the formation of the new RUSSIAN state that was GIVEN international legitimacy which it DID NOT possess for over 70 years.

The fact that the new rulers of the newly constituted RUSSIAN state resorted to stealing former SOVIET assets, both in the country and abroad, (belonging to ALL 16 former SOVIET republics), assets in the form of SOVIET BANK accounts, SOVIET STATE GOLD reserves, hundreds of SOVIET EMBASSY and Consulates buildings, etc., - all that is a matter of record. No need to dispute historic facts.

Since in many FOREIGN airlines the Superjet100 have entered in service in 2012, they have served for a years, maybe a year and a half. So what? Let the years flow, and they will serve again, and again, and again...

".. since Russia EXPORTS grains, it's clear they have enough of that basical good (or else there would have been another artificial famine .."

In that respect you are right. Russia exports grains, but imports processed food of all kind. That keeps the VALUE ADDED in the West while most Russian peasants have to plant more kartoshka (potatoes) and kapusta (cabbage).

Rest assured, another artificial famine created by the Kremlin rulers would mean another revolution. Look, the 100th anniversary is coming in 2017 !!

Rest assured, another artificial famine created by the Kremlin rulers would mean another revolution. Look, the 100th anniversary is coming in 2017 !!
-
Yes...You dream about it every night...and then you wake up and see russian rulers are not so fool, no revolution is at hand, and evil Russian is always there, to stay...
How to say..."wake up, little Didomyk, and weep..."...

So, you should be grateful, GRATEFUL FOREVER to all the peoples of various former republics who, by dissolving the UNION of SSR , facilitated and LEGALISED the formation of the new RUSSIAN state that was GIVEN international legitimacy which it DID NOT possess for over 70 years.
-
Did not possess because there was no NEED for it. Same as it happens to ENGLAND: it has NO international international legitimacy, and it does not give a damn for it. There is the UK, and it's enough (by now). If and when UK will cease to exist...who will live will see...
I don't envy your teachers...a desperate case like you could have ruined their self exteem...with no reason at all...The problem was not they...it was you...

The fact that the new rulers of the newly constituted RUSSIAN state resorted to stealing former SOVIET assets, both in the country and abroad, (belonging to ALL 16 former SOVIET republics), assets in the form of SOVIET BANK accounts, SOVIET STATE GOLD reserves, hundreds of SOVIET EMBASSY and Consulates buildings, etc., - all that is a matter of record. No need to dispute historic facts.
-
Oh, yes, poor boy...go call the kindergarten teacher...
Republics started seceding dreaming to be rich and free without Russia(see Maidan for details: it started all over again...), while Russia fought the Golpe, then they entered the NATO at first chanche, created the hardest possible condition for Russians on thei territory (alien passports and even worse), and Russia should have treated them "by the rules"? They thought Eltsin was a law abiding fool? Hey, this is the real world! If you live in a glass house, you better don't throw stones! They throwed them, so what?

"..the only other choice would have been the use of force: civil war in a nuclear power..."
So the Kremlin gang was afraid of ITS OWN SOVIET ARMED FORCES !
Including the fact that the nuclear forces were dispersed all over the vast Soviet UNION territory under REAL control of local commanders.
-
It always happens in a civil war, my dear., See USA: before, all brothers in arms, then, Lincoln's amendment, Fort Sumter, and here's to you: Grant with the Union, Lee with the south, and so Sheridan and Beauregard, etc. (and the best generals were with the south: Picket, Stonewall Jackson...). What's so unusual?

The following news is very popular now on Chinese websites:
.
According to Wikileak :
.
Leon Panetta on Gorbarchev:
.
he played right into our hands, what an idiot!
.
Obama replied:
.
but he is our idiot.We should have more such idiots.

Not sure as to what is worse... a modern dictator jailing all opponents or a thief stealing state assets.

One is certain, Russia has not changed
-
Oh, it has...9th people in the world for touristic travels abroad, a country able to influence international politics (and economics) without moving a tank, censor-free internet, press and books of every tendency legally available, no jamming on foreign sources, american citizens who ask political asylum there...do you remember 20-30 years ago? Amazing, ain't it?

For future reference please note the following (correct) spelling of the former German Foreign Minister
- Hans-Dietrich Genscher
I have often enough in German suffered the opposite incorrect spelling of my own surname (Walsh / Walsch) to be annoyed when this mistake is made.

You must have arrived late. I saw almost the entire press conference live on German TV via the internet and by no means all the journalists were Russian speaking even if the last few asked their questions in Russian.

Earlier there had been several questions in German and at least one (from AFP) in English. Even if you arrived late you would have noticed him putting on his headphones in order to hear a translation of the question only to put them aside when the question was put in Russian.

Trotsky, a mass murderer, was in opposition to Stalin and was exiled and murdered. And then martyred. Why do so many Westerners sympathise with political outcasts just because they were against the main 'evil' guy? Khodorkovsky is just another heartless bastard who should belong in jail not for political, but for economic reasons. He's the Gordon Gecko of Russia.

How did you possibly get a totally false idea of comparing the devoted revolutionary, the War Commissar Trotsky with heavy layers of blood on his hands, who was murdered by another devoted revolutionary and strong will autocrat Joseph Stalin, with Khodorkovsky who was skillful at manipulating assets, not guns ? He and his other Jewish associates were manipulators, not a mass murderer. The likes of Leon Trotsky, Lazar Kaganovich and numerous other Bolshevik revolutionaries were murderers, plain and simple. The only common denominator between the two names you quoted is that both Leon Trotsky and Khodorkovsky were Jewish.

..It takes some time in the cold to realize that pushing the same as pooling is not good for any one. prosperity is not Talmudic reading. Just support the Russia country what gave you place to live or move to that horrible nightmare Israel what used you for the Mischief to be Jewish oligarch

One of a few who was actually not afraid to confront Putin; So happy for him. . Most of Russian admire this man. I lived in Russia most of my life before fleeing to the west, and what a corrupted and sinister place it is, all due to Putin being in power. I hope he will tried for all the crimes he committed against humanity.

You must be kidding!))) No one real Russian citizen admires him. He got away with his crimes, but there will be lawsuits against him from oilers defrauded of their stocks and foreign stockholders whom he fooled to buy stocks when decided to use them as a backing against Russian government, while paying zero taxes and meddling in politics.

Many, including in Nefteyugansk, which under Khodorkovsky's rule wasn't much different from Stalin's SU. I myself am Russian, I live in Russia and belong to Russian society and Russian culture. Cosmopolitic muck (I am referring to Stolypin, so it's not an insult) with fake diplomas, profound believe that education makes critical reasoning and patriotism irrelevant, call people like me 'puttees'. So I am a puttee. Have a great day.

there will be lawsuits against him from oilers defrauded of their stocks and foreign stockholders whom he fooled to buy stocks when decided to use them as a backing against Russian government, while paying zero taxes and meddling in politics.
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AAre you sure the lawsuits are against Khodorkowsky? The article says they are or can be against russian government.

Yes, so far they are against the government, but one day oilers will stop to fear( Khodorkovsky is gone) and foreign stockholders will realize by whom and what for they were used and abused and will sue Khodorkovsky and coterie. Happy NY!

lived in Russia most of my life before fleeing to the west, and what a corrupted and sinister place it is, all due to Putin being in power. I hope he will tried for all the crimes he committed against humanity.
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When there was Eltsin all rule of law, democracy and human right, ain't it? And no crimes against humanity, by jove (only the bombing of the parliament and the first chechen war, small craps, y'know...)...

Seriously?? He (Mikhail Khodorkovsky) fought for power? That comes from where? rather than listening to who knows what, watch what he actually was doing and draw your conclusions. He had no political ambitions, ever
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What a brainwashed tool!!!
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Go find out what politicians in your country get from their positions.
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What? you think they want to be in government so to serve the people?
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If so, shouldn't you show some respect to them?
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Talk about politics without half an ounce of logic.

Ok, your narrative is that power is money, and money is power is kind of old. Yes of course he needed some sort of power, to develop his business. Just like everywhere in the civilized world, the Big Business has a word in politics. However, somehow the CEOs there don't have to confront fabricated criminal cases. Is the difference so hard to get? Khodorkovsky built the most transparent and efficient company in Russia. He wanted to change business climate, corruption is bad for business, i am sure you have heard. So yes, it was in his interests to fight it. But transparent company means independent of those in power. That went against Putin's interests.

Sorry to me and possibly many people Russia is such a horrible country to live in. This case is actually quite minor in comparison with the horrible incidents where central Asian workers were decaptitated, and it is more funny that common Russia is quite indifferent, if not supportive, to such barbaric activities that are quite endemic in Russia.

http://www。nytimes。com/2008/12/13/world/europe/13russia.html?_r=0

It is funny that the country is almost completely relying on petrodollar like Saudis yet the people there have some sort of Ubermensh-like mentality. What a joke right? Well thanks to the fracturing shale gas in US and soon in China, UKRAINE and likely many other places, the crude boom is all but over. Enjoy your super species of Russia.

thanks to the fracturing shale gas in US and soon in China, UKRAINE and likely many other places, the crude boom is all but over. Enjoy your super species of Russia.
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World economy is en route to recover from 2008 chrisis (born in the USA...), so it will need plenty of energy, here and now, and if not now, tomorrow morning (especially the new -more energyvore- economies, China first of all). Since fracking and shale gas/oil are a full-fledged reality only in USA (and then USA has to choice: export their shale gas and deprive its factories from it, or viceversa?), while elsewhere it has been refused (France) or ended quite bad for economic or geoligical reasons (Poland), or have had other problems (UK). So the recovery will start (and maybe go on) mainly with traditional soucre (including russian gas, of course), and the shale gas will be like the secret nazi weapons in 1944-45: too little, too late (to tame Russia, of course...)...

The Economist seems to be doing a nice line in PR relations for various characters and interests. What a shame Solzhenitsyn is no longer of this world to give us feedback. Thankfully, there's a very pertinent overview on Khodorkovsky in RT.

If they were to put him on trial for what happened in the 90s, Putin, and everyone else around him, has to go on trial, too. I doubt that is feasible. I hope people realize that 90s in Russia was really a wild land. It is hard to follow a lawful path to privatization if there are no laws to follow to begin with...

If you know someone is guilty, why bother collecting evidence and making a legitimate case against them, when you can just put on a show-trial, and get the same resulting jail sentence?
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Why USA justice jailed Al Capone ONLY for fiscal fraud?

It is hard to follow a lawful path to privatization if there are no laws to follow to begin with...
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The rules for privatizations were to be made by the "democratic" (and "advisored") Eltsin boys (they were in charge, did they not?). And what did they do? Strange "auctions" for the friends (including Khodorkovsky), "voucherization" (shares of state properties "given to the people", that "the friends" collected from the people for a song), etc.. And when the parliament tried to oppose to all that, it was dismissed, sieged and bombed (1993).
And then people started to talk about "derhmocracy".

I was right: New Mondela surrounded by new Russian clowns and old
skeletons taken out of garbage pile of History...
Don't waste money on the circus, this "freedom fighter" is a very hard sell to ordinary Russians.

Heck, I have a strange feeling that all this spectacle is a part of
well orchestrated show by... It looks like our "friend" got tired of The Nutcracker and decided to entertain himself with something fresh
in the New Year Eve.
Am I alone with this feeling ?